The Health Condition Almost Everyone Has But No One is Talking About

There is great interest in enhancing healthspan - improving the quality of life to be free from the disability and disease that occurs during most people's last 16 years of life. For most of us, our vision for the future includes living vibrantly, independently, and joyfully until the end of our lives. 

The good news is you can achieve optimal health and flourish as you age, but you must understand the reality of health in our country and take action today!

Some research about achieving optimal health during aging is undeniable, such as the link between exercise and all-cause mortality. In other areas, the research is still in the early stage, with the results seen only in mice, and the enthusiasm is ahead of the science. 

What we do know is Americans are getting sicker. The healthcare system focuses on treating disease rather than keeping us healthy because it is structured to provide greater incentives for treatment rather than preventing or slowing the progression of the disease. 

What You Need to Know 

For non-smokers, 80 percent of the deaths are from four diseases: 

1. Heart and Vascular Disease: Examples are stroke, heart attacks, atherosclerosis, and Transischemic Attacks

2. Cancer - obesity and metabolic syndrome are the leading cause of cancer, second only to smoking 

3. Neurodegeneration: Diseases where the cells of the central nervous system stop working properly or die. Examples are Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s, and ALS

4. Metabolic Dysfunction: Examples are Type 2 Diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome/pre-diabetes, and mitochondrial dysfunctions (how the cells regenerate). Recent research indicates that Alzheimer’s Disease should be considered to be Type 3 Diabetes that affects brain function.

The foundation of all these diseases is metabolic health, which, if not optimized, increases the risk of metabolic dysfunction diseases and other primary conditions. 

There are many ways to define metabolic health, but a simple explanation relates to how well the body can generate and process energy from food. Glucose is the precursor to energy creation throughout the body, and when the body can’t use glucose properly, it leads to metabolic dysfunction. 

Good metabolic health is defined as having optimal levels for five biomarkers (without the assistance of medicine).

You have metabolic syndrome (also known as pre-Diabetes) if you are high in three or more of the following markers: 

• Abdominal or Truncal obesity - a waist measurement of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men

• High blood pressure - Systolic >130 OR Diastolic >85

• High fasting glucose  - > 100 mg/dL

• High fasting triglycerides - >150 mg/dL

• Low HDL cholesterol - <50 mg/dL for women,

Unfortunately, 52% of Americans have been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes) or Type 2 Diabetes. And new research showed that only 6.8 percent of Americans had optimal metabolic health, and that percentage is declining. That means 93% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy, and the rest are at risk for developing almost every chronic condition. More importantly, most people don’t even know they’re at risk. 

These diseases slowly progress and are responsible for much of the disability and deteriorating health Americans see in the last decade of life. The impact is also felt way before the actual diagnosis of the disease. 

Up to 10 years before developing metabolic syndrome, a person starts to experience a disruption in metabolic health.  This disruption causes a change in the chain reactions of how different body parts signal to each other about how to do their job. When that happens, the body cannot function correctly in getting glucose out of the bloodstream to use it as fuel. 

The disruption affects the cellular functioning of the liver, brain, heart, kidneys, muscles, and even fat. This disruption over time is what leads to metabolic syndrome. 

The conversation about early prevention is missing from the mainstream discussion and is frequently not part of the discussion with primary care providers. 

It’s time to start managing biomarkers for optimal health long before we get metabolic syndrome.

What You Can Do To Manage Your Metabolic Health

You can do many things to improve this outlook, prevent chronic diseases, or push them closer to the end of life. The goal is to live without debilitating disabilities and poor health that may shorten your lifespan but may also shorten your healthspan and diminish your quality of life. 

Many years before you have elevated levels of key metabolic syndrome markers, your body is experiencing unhealthy metabolic function, and you don’t even know it. 

For unknown reasons, testing for hormone insulin levels in the blood is not part of a standard fasting testing panel ordered by health providers. Increasing blood insulin levels can be a very early indicator of metabolic health long before the potential impacts of metabolic dysfunction leading to metabolic syndrome and those other primary diseases causing 80% of deaths. 

A high insulin level indicates a lot of blood sugar or glucose floating around the system and not being used. Knowing your insulin level allows you to take action to stop the progression toward metabolic syndrome. Requesting a fasting insulin test in addition to the glucose and lipid panel tests your provider orders can help you take early action. 

However, you don’t need lab tests to take action now to maintain good metabolic health. While you can manage metabolic syndrome with pharmacological treatments, medication will not improve overall metabolic dysfunction, so maintaining good function is essential. You can do many things related to lifestyle to maintain good metabolic health. 

• Eat whole, unprocessed foods, mostly plants. Avoid fad diets and caloric restrictions as they may provide a downward spiral for your metabolic health. 

• Move more, sit less. Physical activity and exercise can have the most dramatic impact on being metabolically healthy. Improving lean body mass and muscular strength is key to improving metabolic health. 

Unfortunately, years of chronic caloric restriction diets combined with insufficient exercise focused on improving muscular strength may have put you in peril for metabolic dysfunction. 

Resistance training and strength training to gain muscle strength and lean body mass is the best exercise for healthy metabolic function. Yet, even something as simple as taking a brisk walk after meals can reduce your blood sugar elevation. 

Move more throughout the day rather than having one workout at the end of the day. It’s not enough to sit all day and do one small chunk of physical activity. Read more on how to get more physical activity in your day. 

• Get appropriate amounts of sleep. It’s good for your body and your brain. Read more on getting better sleep. 

• Manage stress in healthy ways. Chronic exposure to physical or psychological stress is linked to metabolic diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Look for ways to help you manage stress and be calmer. 

• Manage light. Getting bright sunlight early in the day while limiting bright light and screen time later in the evening can alter your metabolism. Scientists found bright light exposure increased insulin uptake compared to dim light exposure in the morning. In the evening, bright light caused higher peak glucose (blood sugar) levels.

Metabolic dysfunction is the root cause of many chronic diseases experienced today. Most people aren’t even aware it exists. It should be part of the mainstream conversation when talking about health. 

The good news is most of your metabolic health is within your control with simple dietary, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

It’s never too late to start. Even the smallest step towards better health, such as going from being sedentary to being more physically active throughout the day, can considerably improve your metabolic health and overall well-being! 

Don’t wait. Start today. If you need support, join us at an upcoming Reignite virtual course. You’ll learn how to take action today and leave with your personalized plan for living well and flourishing. 

13 Ways to Transition to Autumn Using a Chinese Medicine Approach

Jalashree working with a guest.

Guest Blog: Written By Jalashree Pradhan, Licensed Acupuncturist and Reiki practitioner.

“There is a necessary wisdom in the give-and-take of nature, its quiet agreements and search for balance. There is an extraordinary generosity”- Suzanne Simard.

As the last warm days of our late summer wind down and the busy Yang energy of summer recedes, the transition to autumn begins. The days are shorter, the sun sets earlier, and the mornings are cool and crisp. Observing nature in transition during the autumn season, we begin to prepare for more dormant days ahead. Leaves turn and begin their journey back to the earth. Fruits fall, seeds dry, and tree sap returns to the roots. The natural world is preparing for the cold, dark, and challenging months ahead. We, too, must make our preparations at this time. We stock up on colorful and still abundant fruits and vegetables, dry, preserve, and store foods, and rediscover our forgotten sweaters and wool socks—the summer Yang energy transitions to the slower, quiet, and introspective Yin energy during this time.

Welcome to autumn.

The philosophy of Chinese medicine teaches us to live in reciprocal harmony with the natural world’s cycles so that we can maximize our health and wellbeing.

The Five Elements:

According to Chinese medicine, the Five Elements, or 5 phases, are a method by which we can explain the manifestations of this world. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water help us define our relationship to the physical world, the spiritual world, and bodies.

In Chinese medicine, autumn is represented by the Metal element and is related to the Lungs and Large intestine organ systems. The Metal element governs mind, organization, order, stability, an eye for beauty/refinement, and its ability to come together and let go. It relates to the color white. The body tissue it connects to is the skin and body hair. The sensory organ is the nose. We experience this element through a yearning for spicy, pungent, and somewhat sour foods.

When the Metal element is not balanced, we may experience excessive grief and sadness or have difficulty letting go and need control. When in balance, we experience a natural sense of acceptance of the transition of this world. We can let go with grace and grieve appropriately, recognizing change as a natural transformative process.

The Lungs and Large intestine organ systems include the nose, throat, skin, and digestive systems, designed to protect us from harmful external factors. The Qi that circulates on the surface is called Defensive Qi, “Wei Qi.” This encompasses the Western concept of superficial immunity and protects us from seasonal illnesses like colds, flu, and allergies. The Lungs are most susceptible to wind, cold, and dryness at this time of year. If Wei Qi is strong and in balance, we can generally maintain health and avoid illness. If our Lungs are out of balance due to overwork, lack of sleep, or improper diet, we are more likely to suffer from “lung conditions.”  

Common symptoms associated with Lung and Large intestine system imbalances are allergies, asthma, breathing problems, constipation/diarrhea, cough, excessive grief, indifference, sadness, sinus infections, sinus headaches, shortness of breath, susceptibility for colds/flu, skin issues, pain in shoulders, elbows, and lower limbs.

Autumn is an opportune time to nourish these vulnerable systems and balance your overall energy and immune system.

There are many things you can do to transition between seasons and embrace autumn:

Stay Warm - Weather changes quickly during this dry season, so wear extra layers. Keeping a scarf around the neck and chest offers additional protection and makes a bold fashion statement. According to Chinese medicine, wind penetrates through the back of the neck and brings environmental pathogens that can lead to vulnerability to catching an illness. Cover up and protect your skin.

Practice Slowing Down - Exercise is essential at this time, but as the world around us slows down, we should reflect on the pace and not run from it. Try calmer forms of exercise – yoga, Qi Gong, nature walks, taking in the beauty of color changes of the trees, or watching a sunrise/sunset. Seek inspiration and beauty all around you. Embrace the transition.

Share activities with family and friends like raking leaves, foraging mushrooms, apple picking, and bringing the garden to a temporary lull. Take time to watch the beauty and changes as they happen all around you. These are relaxing, connected forms of mental and emotional exercise as we say goodbye to one season and welcome another.

Protect Your Sleep - Days are shorter, and nights are longer. More hours of the day are Yin (dark, quiet, cool, and inactive). Try following nature’s lead by going to bed a little earlier. Make sure to turn off screens and keep the bedroom cool and dark. Going to bed and waking up at regular hours will help restore and repair your body and mind.

Incorporate The Bounty Of The Harvest - Move away from summer’s cold, raw foods to more warm and heartier foods such as soups, stews, sautés, stir-fry, and roasts. Rich and dense foods such as winter squashes, winter peas, broccoli, beets, carrots, cauliflower, red cabbage, sweet potatoes, yams, and dark leafy greens support and help keep the digestive system strong to keep the lung system protected. Seasonal fruits such as cranberries, figs, pears, apples, persimmons, and chestnuts support the Lung and Large intestine organ systems. The season provides us much to be grateful for and acknowledge.

It’s best to avoid rich and fatty foods in autumn. They are difficult to digest and can produce phlegm that blocks the Lung Qi. Also, in Chinese medicine, excessive intake of fruits, juices, and dairy can produce mucus, causing coughs and phlegm, so best to limit these to protect the lungs.

Say Yes To Sour/Pungent Flavors - Add sour foods into your diet (olives, pickles, sauerkraut, lemons, leeks, tart apples, etc.) to help hold the Qi within us. It is wise to add pungent aromatic seasonings such as garlic, ginger, coriander, chili, mustard seed, cinnamon, sage, thyme, and rosemary. They improve Qi and blood circulation and support fluid balance to release mucus. Do use all these sour and pungent spices in moderation to not deplete the Qi and Yin. To support the Lung and Large intestine membranes and get rid of mucous, add fenugreek, marshmallow root, flaxseeds, and kombu seaweed.

Add White - The color white corresponds to the Metal energy. Incorporating white foods such as onions, garlic, ginger, cauliflower, cabbage, bamboo shoots, radishes, turnips, daikon, horseradish, parsnips, mushrooms, apples, pears, almonds, cashews, egg whites all help support the Large intestine to eliminate properly. Also, add fiber-rich whole grains and legumes such as rice, oats, amaranth, white beans, soybeans, and white lima beans.  Do avoid white refined flours and sugars. Wearing white may also bring a sense of lightness.

Cultivate Simplicity - It is time to bring the energy more inward and shed things and activities to help simplify daily life. Consider how to live simply, consciously. Try the Marie Kondo approach to organizing closets and drawers and get rid of things you no longer need; it may help you feel a sense of lightness. Autumn is an excellent time to let go of emotional baggage as well. Clear old resentments, foster compassion and forgiveness, and shed the baggage of unprocessed emotions—all with loving attention and care.

Pause to Breathe - The Lung is the Yin organ of the Metal element and brings Qi, a breath of life, to mind, body, and spirit. Shallow and rapid breaths can reduce oxygen and increase stress/tension and deplete the immune function. Remember to pause and take a mindful breath in from your nose, and exhale slowly from your mouth throughout your day. This will help calm the mind and nourish the Lung system to stay healthy.

Observe and Reflect - This time of the year provides a perfect time to watch the Yang energy transition to Yin energy. It is time to slow down. As the days grow shorter, we may feel anxious or melancholic, saying goodbye to the warmer weather. As beautiful as the changing season can be, the closing days of the year can remind us of our cycles and mortality and helps us to live in alignment with what is greater than ourselves.

If we can be persuaded to put aside our fears and accept all that is happening around us and become a part of the larger life cycle, grief can be experienced as a cleansing emotion.

It is essential to make time to cry and grieve. The sound of the Metal element is weeping. The process of letting go, releasing old patterns and unresolved grief will allow us to move with courage and integrity to clarity, recovery, and finally, acceptance.

Incorporate Essential Oils - The Lungs are related to the nose and our sense of smell. When the Lung system is balanced, we can smell all five smells. Deeply inhale essential oils like rosemary, niaouli, eucalyptus, fir, or peppermint to open and clear the nasal passages, and cinnamon, clove, and lemon, in addition, can help boost immunity. Essential oils of lavender, orange, neroli, ylang-ylang, chamomile, and blue tansy help calm mild anxiety, worry, and stress.

My favorite essential oil blends that I carry at my clinic are from Snow Lotus: Vir-Away, Sinus Clear, Sweet Dreams, Stress Release, and Worry-Free.

Add Chinese Herbal Remedies - Chinese herbal remedies are a time-tested and effective support for the immune system and treating cold and flu. They can also be used to support recovery from various long-haul symptoms of COVID-19. It is best to consult with your East Asian Medicine practitioner or me for the appropriate formula for you.

These are a few formulas that can be safely added to your daily regimen as prevention and maintain health through the autumn and winter seasons:

• Host Defense Immunity Comprehensive/ Stamets 7: a powerful blend of medicinal mushrooms for supporting general immunity

• Griffo Base Camp: classical Chinese herbal formula with medicinal mushrooms in teas and tinctures support seasonal immunity

• Dao Labs (Mpls) Immunity Support: classical herbal blend can be added to your daily autumn regimen

Balance with Acupressure Points - Acupoints can be massaged rotating clockwise for 30 seconds to balance the immune system and support the digestive function.

• CV 17-Sea of Tranquility is on the center of the chest at the 4th rib space and in front of the thymus gland, opens the chest, relaxes the diaphragm, supports the immune system, and brings a sense of calm and ease to the whole body, mind, and heart.

• LU2-Cloud Gate is on the upper chest, below the front of the shoulder and end of the collar bone. This point will help with cough, asthma, and pain in the shoulders, lift the cloud of sadness and grief, and allow brightness and warmth to enter by supporting the Metal element.

• TB5-Outer Gate is on the backside of the arm, about three fingers above your wrist crease between the two tendons. This point powerfully reduces inflammation and balances the fluids of the whole body. Also, the Outer gate allows for a feeling of warmth and connection from others.

Restore with Preventative Care - It is more important than ever to stay healthy and balanced, as well as protect and strengthen your immune system. It is beneficial to schedule a seasonal tune-up with acupuncture, cupping, and Chinese herbs to address allergies, digestive issues, long haul COVD-19 symptoms, sadness and grieving that need compassionate attention, and so much more. A holistic, individualized plan can be developed to support and meet your unique needs. Schedule your next visit by booking an appointment here. 

You can schedule in-person and telehealth appointments with Jalashree using the link above.

Check out our upcoming facial roller event with Jalashree on November 8, in Minneapolis.